Man fatally shoots pit bull after Seattle attack

A pit bull was fatally shot Monday afternoon in the 10400 block of 67th Avenue South after an attack on another dog. (Google Maps)

A South Seattle man fatally shot a pit bull late Monday after it attacked another dog.

The incident happened about 4:10 p.m. in the 10400 block of 67th Avenue South. Police say a boxer and the 30-year-old woman who owned the dog were in their front yard when the pit bull, which had been wandering in the neighborhood, attacked the boxer.

“The woman, her husband and others made numerous attempts to stop the attack using rocks and other yard implements to no avail,” Detective Jeff Kappel said in a statement. “With the boxer bleeding and obviously injured and fearing his wife was about to be attacked by the pit bull, the woman’s husband retrieved a handgun and shot the pitbull once, fatally wounding it and ending its attack.”

The boxer was rushed to an animal hospital with serious injuries. Seattle Animal Shelter officers responded, took custody of the dead pit bull and are investigating the animal incident.

None of the people involved were injured. The man who shot the dog was interviewed by police and released.

There is a ban on pit bulls in some King County cities, but not Seattle. Don Jordan, Seattle Animal Shelter director, has previously said the problem is not the breed, but problem environments in which some pit bulls are kept.

Of all breeds, pit bulls were most likely to bite with 547 of 2,914 reported incidents between 1997 and 2008, according to Seattle Animal Shelter officials. They also were identified in a quarter of menacing incidents during that time period — 1,066 of 4,189.

Rather than calling for a breed ban, Jordan said people concerned about safety should enact ordinances affecting dog owners.

Best Friends Animal Society, an organization that advocates against a pit bull breed ban, estimated a ban in King County would cost an estimated $2.5 million. (See the results and methodology here.)